A court in Almaty has sentenced several activists, including journalist Aigerim Tleuzhan, to sentences in a medium-security penal colony over their participation in the brief seizing of the Almaty airport during mass protests that rocked the country in January 2022. Tleuzhan was handed four years, while Kalas Nurpeisov, Nurlan Dalibayev, Yermukhamet Shilibayev, and Zhan-Aidar Karmenov were all handed eight years. All of the defendants said they would appeal the verdict. “What they are doing is unfair! But no matter how many years they lock me up, I will not bow my head. I will not bend my knees!" Tleuzhan said. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
Kazakh Court Hands Prison Sentences To Group Over 2022 Airport Seizure
Journalist and activist Aigerim Tleuzhan (left) and her lawyer, Ainara Aidarkhanova, in court on July 11.